Château Sociando Mallet

The producer

Located in the commune of Saint-Seurin de Cadourne and offering a magnificent panorama of the Gironde estuary, the château appears in the 17th century. Its name derives from its owner, a Basque aristocrat named Sociando. In 1831, the estate was renamed Sociando-Mallet, following a change of ownership.

The château's great viticultural history began in 1969, when Jean Gautreau, a tennis player and broker by training, fell under the spell of the estate despite its sorry state and bought it instead of selling it to one of his clients. When he bought it, the estate covered just 5 hectares of vines; today, more than 83 hectares produce 450,000 bottles of Château Sociando-Mallet and its little sister, Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet, every year.

Château Sociando-Mallet is in the tradition of Haut-Médoc wines, producing full-bodied wines with a deep, dark color. Composed of 60% Merlot since the uprooting of some Cabernet Franc vines in 2015, the estate's wines are typical of the high quality wines that feature neither in the 1855 Grands Crus nor the Crus Bourgeois classification.

Commitments

Château Sociando-Mallet is committed to respecting nature as much as possible, so that the wines can express their aromas to the full. Soil maintenance is therefore carried out in the traditional way, with two operations of shoeing and de-shoeing the vines to aerate the soil. In spring, pruning is carried out by hand to remove unwanted shoots growing on the old wood of the trunks and arms of the vines. Raising the vines and harvesting the grapes are also done by hand.

Terroir

Occupying the Butte de Baleyron, one of the finest gravel terroirs in the Médoc, north of Pauillac, the vineyard overlooks the Gironde estuary. The terroir is made up of gravel from the Guntzian period, on a deep clay-limestone subsoil, which allows the Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen in excellent conditions, and gives the Merlot great depth and complexity. The estate's location also ensures a good supply of water to the vines, guaranteeing the freshness, complexity and elegance of Sociando wines, of which this terroir is the soul.

Covering 120 hectares, 83 of which are planted with vines, the estate occupies the Baleyron croup, giving the vines optimum exposure to the sun, while maintaining regular ventilation due to its proximity to the estuary.

The grape varieties are 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines is 35 years.

The wines

Chateau Sociando-Mallet is an unclassified Haut Médoc cru, but has demonstrated its high quality in international competitions (1982, 1996 and 2010 in particular). Full-bodied, with a dark color and a nose of black fruits and wood, its aromas are enhanced by a hint of minerality. A wine with great ageing potential (up to 30 years for great vintages), from "virile" in its youth to harmonious in its maturity.

La Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet is produced from the estate's youngest vines, with 50% Merlot. The juice it produces is light and elegant, like the dragonfly adorning the bottle label. Fresh and pleasant to drink, it is the perfect accompaniment to grilled meats or shellfish specialties.